Yearly Archives: 2014

Nine Arkansans received Individual Artist Fellowships from Arkansas Arts Council

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Arkansas_Arts_Council_logo_2The Arkansas Arts Council is pleased to announce the nine recipients of its Individual Artist Fellowship awards. The artists will be recognized at a reception, co-sponsored by Historic Arkansas Museum, on Friday, October 3, from 6-8 p.m. at the museum on 200 E. Third St. in Little Rock. The reception is free and open to the public. Seating is limited; reservations are required. For reservations, call (501) 324-9766.

Fellowships are awarded annually in the amount of $4,000 each to Arkansas artists in recognition of their individual artistic abilities. These fellowships enable artists to set aside time for creating their art and improving their skills. Three artistic disciplines are selected each year as categories for the awards.

The three categories for this year are Literary Arts: Short Story Writing; Performing Arts: Directing of Theater Productions; and Visual Arts: Works on Paper.

The following recipients were selected by a jury of professional artists, writers, performers and art administrators:

Literary Arts: Short Story Writing

Marla Cantrell, Alma

Alice Otto, Fayetteville

Hung Pham, Fayetteville

 

Performing Arts: Directing of Theater Productions

Amy Herzberg, Fayetteville

Kassie Misiewicz, Bentonville

Rebekah Scallet, Little Rock

 

Visual Arts: Works on Paper

Sheila Cantrell, Batesville

Delita S. Martin, Little Rock

Kathryn (Kat) Wilson, Fayetteville

Final Day for two exhibits at Historic Arkansas Museum

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Two exhibits at Historic Arkansas Museum close today.

“So What!” It’s The Least I Can Do… new paintings by Ray Wittenberg

Little Rock artist Ray Wittenberg’s large-scale paintings explore a turn away from the conjuring marks of expression toward a search for pictorial simplicity. These whimsical paintings explore nothing more than the relationship between the elements of line and color with the goal to strip everything down to the essentials and achieve simplicity. The pared-down design elements, along with repetition, “desirably get the painter out of the equation,” states Wittenberg.  His Caribbean Sea on Fresh Tangerine is shown at right.

Kateri Joe: Thank Your Lucky Stars

Kateri Joe is a painter living just outside of Little Rock, Arkansas. Self-taught in art, but academically trained in psychology, her two passions converge in her mixed media pieces. Her pieces are often reflective, eccentric and made with unconventional media—such as dirt, gold leaf and fingerprints. This is her first full exhibition and is based on the universal relationship of humanity and the Cosmos.

Historic Arkansas Museum is a division of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Opera in the Rock tonight

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operainrockOpera in the Rock is presenting two one act operas this weekend.  The first performance was last night, with another performance tonight.

The Face on the Barroom Floor, music by Henry Mollicone and libretto by John S. Bowman and La Pizza con Funghi (The Mushroom Pie), music and libretto by Seymour Barab.

The performance is at 7:30 pm at the Argenta Community Theatre.

For tickets: click here.

Opera In The Rock (OITR) was founded in the spring of 2013. Its purpose is the production of mainstage professional opera, in addition to a continuing opera review series. Their mission is to enrich the cultural life of Arkansas through opera by utilizing local, state, and regional artistic talents. The goal is to give talented performers an opportunity to further their artistic careers.

Opening night of MEMPHIS as Arkansas Rep kicks off 2014-2015

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THEREP_MEMPHIS (no credits)-page-001A regional theatre premiere at Arkansas Rep, Memphis is a new musical with music and lyrics by David Bryan of Bon Jovi fame and lyrics and book by Joe DiPietro loosely based on Memphis disc jockey Dewey Phillips, one of the first white DJs to play black music in the 1950s.

Appearing on Broadway from October 19, 2009 to August 5, 2012, Memphis garnered eight 2010 Tony Award nominations, and won four 2010 Tony Awards, including Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Orchestrations and Best Musical.

Set in the 1950s in the musically-rich Tennessee city, Memphis tells the story of a local DJ with a passion for R&B music and an up-and-coming singer that he meets one fateful night on Beale Street. As their careers rise, their relationship is challenged by personal ambition and the pressures and prejudice of the outside world.

From the first notes of its opening number “Underground” right up to a rousing finale called “Steal Your Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Memphis delivers one energetic song after the next, with electrifying singing and dancing along the way.

The production is directed and choreographed by Lynne Kurdziel-Formato.  Other members of the creative team include Mark Binns (music director), Mike Nichols (scenic designer), Rafael Colon Castanera and Mark Nagle (costume designers), Bill Webb (lighting designer), Allan Branson (sound designer), Lynda J. Kwallek (properties designer) and Rob Pickens (wig designer).

The cast is led by Brent DiRoma and Jasmin Richardson.  Others in the cast include Ann-Ngaire Martin, Bill Newhall, Tony Perry, Arthur L. Ross and Gregory L. Williams.  The cast also includes Katie Emerson, Ryan Farnsworth, Maris Kirby, Daniel McDonald, J. Nycole Ralph, Courtney Blackmun, Michele May Clark, Tatiana H. Green, DeCarl Jones, Chris McNiff, Gregory Omar Osborne, Shuan Repetto, James Roberts, Kyron Turner and Laura Leigh Turner.

Performances are at 7pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings, 8pm on Friday and Saturday evenings and matinees on Sunday at 2pm.  The production runs through Sunday, September 28.

Middle East is the topic of the 2014 Rabbi Ira Sanders Distinguished Lecture Tonight

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DrKimballphotocalsDr. Charles Kimball, author of When Religion Becomes Lethal: The Explosive Mix of Politics and Religion in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, will present the Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) Rabbi Ira Sanders Distinguished Lecture on Thursday, September 4, at 6:30 p.m. in the CALS Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Avenue. The lecture is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a reception and book signing.

Kimball is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and holds the M.Div. degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. An ordained Baptist minister, he received his Th.D. from Harvard University. Kimball is an expert analyst on Islam, Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations, the Middle East, and the intersection of religion and politics in the U.S.

Dr. Charles Kimball is Presidential Professor and Director of Religious Studies at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK. Between 1996 and 2008, he served as Chair of the Department of Religion and the Divinity School at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC. During the 2006 fall term, Dr. Kimball was the Rita and William Bell Visiting Professor at the University of Tulsa. He is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and holds the M.Div. degree from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Reservations are requested, but not required. RSVP to pedwards@cals.org or 918-3009. For more information contact 918-3086 or sgele@cals.org.

 

MEMPHIS at Arkansas Rep is focus of Clinton School Program today at noon

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THEREP_MEMPHIS (no credits)-page-001The Arkansas Repertory Theatre works in partnership with the Clinton School of Public Service to participate in the UACS’s Distinguished Speaker Series, hosting educational panel discussions on various Rep productions.

The latest in these takes place today, Thursday, September 4 at 12 noon at Sturgis Hall in Clinton Presidential Park.

Join Producing Artistic Director Bob Hupp, Memphis Director Lynne Kurdziel-Formato, cast members Brent DiRoma and Jasmin Richardson, and author Marvin Schwartz for a panel discussion on this Tony Award-winning musical.

 

Memphis opens officially on Friday evening and runs through Sunday, September 28.

Jazz in the Park returns with Rodney Block and the Real Music Lovers tonight from 6pm to 8pm in Riverfront Park

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jazzinparkJazz in the Park is back in Little Rock for the second half of the second season! Jazz in the Park is a free, family-friendly event featuring jazz in downtown Little Rock.

Things get going tonight from 6pm to 8pm with Rodney Block & the Real Music Lovers.  Block is a Dumas native who has been thriving in the local music scene for the past couple of years. A trumpeter who has been featured and performed in various venues across the region ranging from corporate to social, he has built a niche in the genres of jazz and hip hop. Notable artists he has shared the stage with include Dwele, Jonathan Butler, Dave Hollister, Wynton Marsalis, and Eric Roberson. In 2007, Block’s televised jazz feature, AETN Presents: Front Row with Rodney Block, was nominated for a Regional Emmy.

The event is completely free, but no coolers are allowed. Beer, wine, soft drinks and water will be available for sale, with a portion of the proceeds going to benefit Sculpture at the River Market. Lawn chairs and blankets are welcome, and there is some seating in the natural stone amphitheater at the History Pavilion.

This event is sponsored by Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau and the River Market, with special thanks to Arkansas Sounds Music Festival and the Central Arkansas Library System.

Jazz in the Park takes place Wednesday nights in September from 6pm to 8pm. They will take place in the History Pavilion near the Junction Bridge and the River Market.